What's it like to live in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua?

I love living in San Juan del Sur. I love working in San Juan del Sur. As soon as I leave my office, I can just go for a walk on the beach and later watch the beautiful sunset every day. My kids can go to the beach every afternoon. It’s safe and I just love it.

The main thing people enjoy in San Juan del Sur is the beach, the surfing and the activities. There’s a canopy tour, there’s jet skiing, there’s fishing; there’s a lot of things that you can do that can keep you entertained.

(Dark sand beaches of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, pictured.)

Posted May 02, 2015

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Living in San Juan Del Sur is very relaxed because it is not a busy city. The town wakes up very early. People are up as early as 4 AM, when the sun has not even come out yet. The people who wake up very early are mostly the locals who open their shops or are heading to the bus station to go wherever they have to go or to send their merchandise somewhere. By 7 AM, you will start seeing the kids going to school and the activity in the town is already full blown. Everybody is up and going.

Pretty much, every house in San Juan Del Sur has a business. It could be a small shop or a restaurant. They sell all kinds of things such as shirts, massage services, surf boards, etc. There are a wide variety of different businesses in San Juan Del Sur and that is what the families pretty much live off.

The people of San Juan Del Sur have a very relaxed working environment. They do not really burn themselves out in order to make a lot of money. They only need enough money to survive and get ahead. So, they open up their businesses at around 7:30 AM, then, at 12 PM, they will close for lunch. They re-open at 2 PM and close again at 4:30 PM. Therefore, if you need to buy something, you should do it within those time periods. That is very typical of small towns all over Nicaragua. Probably, the only place where they do not do that is in Managua.

Expats in San Juan Del Sur live almost the same way as locals. They wake up early and then at around 7 AM, they probably head to the market to buy breakfast or anything they need, then go out to buy things for their house at around 10 AM. Afterwards, they relax, read a book, watch TV and have lunch. In the afternoon, they would probably go to the beach or go to one of the bars and have a beer in front of the beach. At night, they could visit another bar later on or walk around, or go to the port to buy fish for dinner.

During the day, you can check emails, since there is Internet everywhere in San Juan Del Sur. There are also TVs everywhere. San Juan Del Sur is a very laid back town, so living here is very relaxed.

San Juan Del Sur is not for everybody. It really depends on what you want and what you are looking for in a place. There is no movie theater here. The closest cinema is in Managua, which is around two hours away by car.

I personally love living in San Juan Del Sur. The weather is nice all year round. It is a very laid back town. There is no traffic or rush hour here. There is no smog, either. It is very calm and stress- free.

A typical day in San Juan Del Sur is very relaxing. If you like fishing, there is a lot of fishing here. You can also go hiking and biking. There is a lot of sightseeing, too. You can go to volcanoes and to the national park. There are many things to do.

I live in Escamequita, Nicaragua, which is a town about 20 minutes away from San Juan Del Sur. Escamequita is very rural and we are one of the few expats who live in this area at this time.

We have been beautifully welcomed into the community by the locals. We are very involved in giving back and helping, mostly with medical situations and education. We also help on some improvements to houses and community buildings, so in part because of that I think we have been quite well received.

I think living in San Juan Del Sur would be like living in a small town the US. There is a coffee place where the expats frequent. There is a sub-community in San Juan Del Sur that is made of young couples who have had babies or are giving birth here. It is a very interesting subculture. There are groups for mothers, schools, and social gatherings around that. There are also book clubs and art shows happening in San Juan del Sur.

Living in San Juan Del Sur has a very relaxed feel. There is no rush at all and you wouldn’t feel the stress of living in big city. Things are very slow-paced over here in every way possible.

If you are a person who likes the nightlife, there are always fun things to do both for older people and for younger people. There are also a lot of outdoor activities you can do during the day so if you are a person who likes to go out and hang around the beach, or if you like going hiking, or surfing, or even if you are a person who likes to just relax, you can enjoy a lot in San Juan Del Sur.

What you will not find here is the east coast mentality where it is all work and then you’ll get a 2-week long vacation. It is quite the contrary over here in San Juan Del Sur because out here it is one big vacation!

Living in San Juan del Sur is great. It’s a very happy town. Nicaraguans are generally very happy, San Juan del Sur is a vacation town, and people are happy when they’re on vacation, so here in San Juan del Sur, we’re mixing happy people together, so it’s a great place to live.

The key to living in San Juan del Sur is to have self-control. The reason: between the locals and the bars, there’s a party every night. Nicaraguans party more than any people I’ve ever met. Any Saint’s Day, they have a festival. Any excuse to have a party, they take it. We just had San Juan del Sur Day, featuring the hipicos, which are the fancy horses that prance and dance. I had a party right in front of my house!

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